Preview Story
by Lisa Fox
Summary: Hi! I'm trying out a story that I promise is different from any others you've read. Read it and review if you would like to see the rest of the story. Note: this is the most mature chapter of the entire book, hence the rating. Lisa Fox


**AN:** Hi! I'm previewing a chapter for a possible fic I may be writing, but I need some positive feedback. This is the plot up to this point, tentatively. Maryn is a girl who is from America and is transported into Alagaësia. (Yeah, I know. It's typical, but read on, please. It's a bit different than you think.) She's not all that attractive, but her silky hair and white teeth amaze most in Alagaësia. At 5'10", she stands out in a world where the average male height is 5'8". At this point in the story, she has been in Galbatorix's castle, listening for any information that she can pass onto the elves that she ran into earlier in the story. During her stay in Elesméra, it is discovered that she is completely unaffected by magic, which cause her to be a valuable spy for the elves.

Maryn stood there, amazed. There it was: the last dragon egg. "I'm too lucky," she whispered to herself as she slowly uncovered the straw that surrounded the egg. As she brought it into the light, she saw its true color, a gray-blue, the color of the dress the elves had made her. The veins that ran through the egg were a cream color, much like her under-dresses.

_Maybe it's for me_, she dared to think. _It's too much of a coincidence. Those are my favorite colors. _ Finally, she dared to touch it with her fingertips. It was surprisingly warm for the chill of the room. Her hand began to tremble. Hadn't others said that dragon eggs were cold?

Her chest rose and fell, quickening in motion when she heard a squeak. _No, it's impossible_ she thought. _I am immune to magic; I can't be the next dragon rider_. Still, she couldn't deny the cracks forming on the surface. _It's hatching,_ she thought. _It's hatching! _

Suddenly, she heard another squeak, this one from behind her. Someone was coming. Maryn looked around franticly. There were no exits, no windows, no grills of any sort. She stood up, looking for something to hide behind, but it was too late, and the door began to open. Quickly, she took her dust cloth in hand and shoved the crate with the egg behind the curtain.

The door opened. It was Bryant.

"Oh, the poor little maid is all alone again. In a most curious place, I might add."

Maryn set her jaw as the tall man came towards her. "Good day, sir. I was just leaving."

"I think not. It's not too often that one comes across a maid all alone in a place so far from everything, especially one with such lovely hair and one suited to my own size."

Maryn backed away, not daring to show her disgust on her face. Bryant sprang forward. He enclosed her waist with one arm and took her cap off with his free hand. As he unpinned her bun, Maryn could tell that he had done this before. She also knew that she could do nothing about it.

"Does Galbatorix know you are doing this?" she spat at him, trying to squirm from his vise-grip.

"Why would he care?" He was unbuttoning her over-dress now. How he managed to do it with one hand was beyond Maryn. She tried to shut herself away, but his voice weaseled into her head.

"As far as I know, he would ignore it completely. Everyone knows he has no qualms when dealing with women." After cutting away her corset, Bryant's hands lingered on her chest. "Perhaps you should see someone about these, my darling," he whispered into her ear, fondling her breasts harshly. "They really are a bit too small to please my appetite. You could be absolutely magnificent. Or, perhaps…"

"Self-control!" she yelled out. "A sorcerer needs self-control. Something of which you have none." Bryant angrily tore off her under-dress leaving Maryn completely naked.

"Who needs self-control, now?" he growled, smacking her with the back of his hand. Maryn felt wetness trickle down her chin. His ring had opened the skin on her cheek. "Had you simply been complacent, I may have let you go, but now? I think not. No, you are simply too good of a catch to let go." Turning towards the door, he called out. "Hold down and silence the girl! We'll have some fun with her, won't we?"

As two men burst through the door, she spat at Bryant and brought her heel down sharply on his foot, but she was still held tight. "I like a girl with a little spice," he said, grinning perversely and she was thrust to the floor and gagged by two men while Bryant began to unlace his pants. Maryn closed her eyes as Bryant began to laugh.

A squeak broke through his laugh and Bryant looked over towards the box. The egg was still intact, its cracks invisible from more than a foot away. "What do we have here?" Bryant mused as he strode over to the box. Maryn cried at the awfulness of it, tears streaming into the cut on her face.

He put his hand in the box and touched the egg. At that moment, the egg trembled and Maryn could just make out a small gray-blue snout across the room.

"It hatched!" Bryant called. "The dragon egg hatched for me! I knew I'd be the one."

He reached into the box and pulled back, clutching his hand to his chest. Maryn screamed into the gag as her heart was ripped from her chest, her brain cleaved in two, every single bone broken. She was falling, falling into a red, blood red void.

Bryant held out a hand. His palm shone in the light as he turned it from side to side.

"I am a dragon rider!"

**AN:** For those of you who thought that Maryn would become a rider, I'm sorry. I feel bad doing this to her, but it's definitely not your typical "girl from America" story. Hopefully I managed to relay this part of the story fairly well. Sorry for the cliff-hanger, but it's an effective way to end this chapter. If you would like to see more of this story, please review telling me so!


End file.
